Contact: Charity R. Clark, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171
The Attorney General’s Office today announced that two men— Quang Le, 58, of South Burlington and Steven J. Renaud, 52, of Hyde Park—were arraigned in Vermont Superior Court last week for separate incidents of possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Quang Le, 58, of South Burlington, Vermont, was arraigned on February 8, 2022, on two felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The charges brought against Mr. Le are the result of a criminal investigation – including the execution of residential and online data search warrants – conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children (VT-ICAC) Task Force, including personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Vermont State Police, with the assistance of the Burlington Police Department and South Burlington Police Department.
The investigation was initiated when the VT-ICAC Task Force received a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was sharing what was suspected to be images of child sexual abuse materials, commonly referred to as “child pornography,” through Facebook Messenger. Based upon the criminal investigation of this tip, Mr. Le was identified as the source of the suspected content shared through Facebook.
Mr. Le pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division. The Court, Judge A. Gregory Rainville presiding, ordered conditions of release which prohibit Mr. Le’s contact with minors and access to the internet, and imposed a $2,000 appearance bond.
In a separate incident, Steven J. Renaud, 52, of Hyde Park, Vermont, was arraigned on February 10, 2022, on five felony counts of Promoting a Recording of Sexual Conduct and one felony count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. The charges brought against Mr. Renaud are the result of an investigation that was initiated when the FBI forwarded an investigation to the VT-ICAC Task Force relating to an individual promoting what was suspected to be files containing child sexual abuse material on the Kik platform. The VT-ICAC Task Force also received CyberTipline Reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children associated with this individual. Based upon the criminal investigation of these tips, Mr. Renaud was identified as the source of the suspected content on the identified accounts. During the execution of a search warrant on Mr. Renaud’s residence, additional devices were recovered that will be forensically examined.
Mr. Renaud pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week in Vermont Superior Court, Lamoille Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Michael Harris presiding, ordered a $5,000 unsecured appearance bond and conditions of release which prohibit Mr. Renaud’s access to minors, the internet, and devices capable of accessing the internet during the pendency of the case.
The VT-ICAC Task Force investigates cases of child sexual exploitation occurring over the internet, including the production and online distribution of child sexual abuse materials. The VT-ICAC Task Force also provides forensic examination services, technical assistance, law enforcement training, and public education and outreach. The Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vermont State Police, Homeland Security Investigations and other federal, state, county, and municipal law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies are affiliated with the VT-ICAC Task Force.
The Attorney General’s Office emphasizes that individuals charged with a crime are legally presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.